DETROIT -- Phil Coke is headed to Triple-A Toledo and will return to the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 1, when rosters are expanded.

That's the plan for Coke according to Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who made the announcement Tuesday night following his team's 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

The Tigers will recall left-hander Jose Alvarez to replace Coke on the active roster.

"I'm not happy," Coke said, "and I don't know who would be."

Leyland stressed that the Tigers aren't down on Coke, who said he understood why the team made the move. They simply want him to be work on locating his pitches better.

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Phil Coke walks to the dugout after being pulled after just five pitches during the Tigers' 6-3 loss against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, August 20. Coke was later optioned to Toledo to work on his control. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

"We made a move," Leyland said. "I want to make sure everybody understands that we're not down on Phil Coke. He's coming back up Sept. 1. But this was an opportunity for him to go down there and just, he's got to do a little better job of staying out of the middle of the plate."

Coke has struggled throughout the season, but he remained effective against left-handers for the most part. But even his effectiveness against lefties eventually faltered. He is 0-5 with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 43 games for the Tigers this season.

Coke entered the game Tuesday night with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to face the left-handed hitting Justin Morneau, who had hit a two-run home run off Rick Porcello an inning earlier. Morneau laced a two-run double to right-center field to knock in two runs. Coke then intentionally walked Ryan Doumit and was removed from the game.

If the Tigers wanted to send Coke to Triple-A Toledo to work on his command, they were running out of time. Players with five years of service time can refuse an option to the minors regardless of whether or not they have option years remaining. Coke was set to reach five years of service time Thursday.